The battle ended quickly.
Or rather, most of the time afterward was spent cleaning up the battlefield.
The moment the fifth-rank puppet knights under Hel appeared, the outcome for the hundred-man transcendent squad before them was already decided.
However, following Hel's orders, Witt did not kill them.
Instead, their elemental power was sealed and they were taken into custody.
Once everything had been dealt with, Heim Industrial Park returned to its usual calm.
It was as if no enemy had ever invaded the place.
The workers busy inside the factories would never know that, just moments earlier, they had nearly faced a bloody reprisal from the Mechanical Academy.
Meanwhile, in the Grand Conference Hall of the Savant Royal Palace, a royal council meeting was underway.
Representatives from the great noble houses of the Savant Kingdom had all arrived.
Both ruling dukes were present, along with all twelve marquises.
Because of the special circumstances of this royal succession, the Savant royal family had also sent its own representative.
One of the royal elders would personally preside over the ceremony.
Originally, the royal selection was supposed to take place after the New Year.
However, due to certain developments, they had been forced to convene the election urgently, with only three days left before the New Year.
The royal elder Simona Savant looked at Hiness, who was quietly seated to the side, her expression complicated.
Behind Hiness stood three sixth-rank powerhouses from two academies, along with a large group of great nobles.
In contrast, the camps behind the Second Prince and the Fourth Princess looked rather shabby.
Behind the Second Prince remained only Jeremy, the dean of the Potion Academy, along with six marquises.
Behind the Fourth Princess stood merely two well-dressed stewards, each representing one of the two ruling dukes.
As for the Alchemy Academy and the Mechanical Academy, their deans were currently far too busy dealing with their own crises.
Seeing this situation, Elder Simona already understood—
There was essentially no suspense left in this royal election.
The Seventh Princess's victory seemed all but certain.
Still, as the presiding official of the ceremony, she cleared her throat symbolically and spoke:
"Is everyone here? If so, we shall begin the ceremony to select the new king."
However, before she could continue, the Fourth Princess quickly interrupted.
"Wait. There are still people who haven't arrived yet. Please wait a little longer."
"Still… people?"
Elder Simona looked at the Fourth Princess with a complicated expression.
She truly wanted to tell this stubborn girl: You barely have anyone left. Just give up already.
But according to the rules, as long as not everyone had arrived, a candidate had the right to delay the start of the ceremony.
Still…
Simona glanced around the hall.
By the looks of things, the only parties who had yet to send representatives were the Mechanical Academy and the Alchemy Academy.
But could they even send anyone?
One academy was splitting apart internally, and the other was in the middle of riots.
Even if their deans wanted to attend, they likely had no time to spare.
Yet, to Simona's surprise, just as time passed little by little and dusk began to fall—when the ceremony was about to begin regardless—
A blood-soaked figure walked into the hall.
The Dean of the Mechanical Academy entered with a mace-like staff in one hand.
In the other, he was dragging the Dean of the Alchemy Academy as if hauling a chicken.
He tossed the alchemy dean onto the ground, then swept a cold gaze across the entire hall.
His eyes lingered on Hiness for a moment, glaring viciously.
Only then did he speak loudly:
"The Magina Mechanical Academy and the Archimi Alchemy Academy support the Fourth Princess.
Who opposes? Who agrees?"
The moment his words fell, most of the people present showed clear displeasure.
The era when Dean Andrew had been most active was far too distant for them.
So most people present did not really understand what kind of person he was.
However, Simona, as a fellow royal elder, knew him very well.
Unfortunately, she was two generations younger than Andrew.
Her strength was inferior to his, so she had little desire to provoke him.
After Andrew spoke, the situation in the hall suddenly changed.
The previously neutral Dean of the History Academy, after clenching his teeth, walked over to stand behind the Fourth Princess.
The Dean of the Arts Academy also considered moving over.
But after thinking for a moment, she stayed where she was.
The previous night, Andrew had threatened her—if they refused to support the Fourth Princess, he would tear down the Arts Academy.
Yet Hiness was, after all, a student of their academy.
In the future, perhaps this connection could help them escape their long-standing position at the bottom of the Seven Academies.
After some hesitation, she decided to gamble.
She slowly walked over to stand behind Hiness.
Seeing this, Andrew merely raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Instead, he turned to Jeremy, the dean of the Potion Academy, who stood behind the Second Prince.
"Dean Jeremy, you still remember what I told you yesterday, don't you?"
"…This…"
Jeremy's expression darkened.
After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly grabbed the Second Prince and, to the shock of everyone present, walked over to stand behind the Fourth Princess.
The six marquises who had followed the Second Prince—and the prince himself—did not seem surprised by Jeremy's decision.
At that moment, Dean Andrew finally revealed a satisfied smile.
He glanced coldly at Madam Viola, who stood behind Hiness, then said to Elder Simona:
"According to the rules of Savant's royal election, the Seven Academies and the two grand dukes each hold two votes.
The twelve marquises each hold one vote.
That makes thirty votes in total, and whoever receives the most votes becomes the new king.
Now, we already have eighteen votes.
We are the side with the majority.
So, Elder Simona—you may announce the result."
"I…"
Elder Simona forced a stiff smile.
Truthfully, she did not want to announce that result at all.
Because the reason Sinis had asked her to advance the election had been simple.
They now controlled the entire economy of Savant City.
If she truly followed the rules and declared the Fourth Princess the winner—
Then the foreign Duke of Heim would withdraw his investments.
And Savant would face an economic crisis far worse than the previous financial bubble.
But since she was weaker than Dean Andrew, she truly lacked the courage to openly refuse him.
Of course, she was also unwilling to announce the result so easily.
And so the two sides entered a brief stalemate.
Until—
The grand hall's doors opened once again.
Two young women walked in, one after the other.
Walking at the front, Hel smiled as she slowly glanced around the entire hall.
Then she spoke calmly:
"I'm not late, am I?"